The European Parliament decision on the future power regulations for electric bikes has been delayed until at least July 2012, according to Bike Europe.
Previously, MEPs have been lobbied by industry cycling associations COLIBI/COLIPED and the European Cyclists Federation who want the market to remain limited to bicycles with pedal assistance up to 25 km/h and a motor output limit of 0.25 kW. However the European Two Wheel Retailers’ Association (ETRA) has proposed changes to the type-approval of electric bikes, to allow electric bikes to have more power but with a pedal-assisted speed limit of 25 km/h, to widen their usage .
ETRA argues that the existing ‘speed and power’ legal restrictions on electric bikes limit the manufacturers in terms of what they can offer, therefore hindering industry growth when demand for efficient, cost-effective transport is increasing. At present, an electric bike with a power output of more than 0.25kW would be categorized as a moped. The organisation is therefore lobbying for electric bikes with pedal assistance up to 25 km/h – regardless of the bike’s motor power – to be excluded from the type-approval regulations for mopeds in the future. Their proposal states “the current legislation hampers the realisation of the full market potential of electric bicycles and light electric mopeds as a result of specifications, categorisations, definitions and type-approval requirements which are no longer up to date.”
The organization reasons that abolishing the 0.25 kW motor output would be a logical advance since “pedal assisted cycles are now appealing to a much broader and more varied public throughout the EU. This development however shows that 0.25 kilowatts is not always sufficient to produce comfortable and safe electric cycles that perform at the required level. The current power limit of 0.25 kilowatts proves to be insufficient, for instance in hilly and mountainous areas, for people suffering from obesity, for three-wheelers developed for physically impaired people, for vehicles developed to transport cargo..”
ECF, on the other hand, believes safety is an issue saying “the shared use of cycling infrastructure by ever more powerful electric vehicles and “normal” bicycles (i.e. without electric support) will worsen the comfort and safety of the latter, especially children and elderly people.”
